Singapore stocks has risen slightly this week with STI up 0.5%, ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole address, with markets scaling back bets on imminent rate cuts.

In terms of star stocks, NIO rose 27.8%; Jardine C&C rose 9%; Singtel, SGX, and DBS rose 2%; while iFast fell 13.6%; ST Engineering fell 7%; Keppel, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, and Genting Singapore fell 1%.

Market News

Singapore's Exports Fall 4.6% Y/Y in July, Weaker Than Forecast

Singapore's non-oil domestic exports fell 4.6% in July from the same month a year earlier, government data showed on Monday, weaker than analysts' estimates as pharmaceuticals led a drop in non-electronics shipments.

The fall compared with a Reuters poll forecast for annual contraction of 1.8%, and followed a revised 12.9% rise in June.

Non-oil domestic exports to the U.S., Mainland China and Indonesia declined in July, but rose to the EU, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong.

Singapore's Temasek Mulls Three-Way Split, Bloomberg News Reports

Singapore's Temasek is weighing a reorganisation into three investment vehicles, as the state owned investor looks to improve returns and efficiencies, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.

One unit would focus on the biggest local holdings such as flag carrier Singapore Airlines while the other would largely look at foreign investments, the report added, citing people familiar with the matter.

A third unit would include all of Temasek’s fund investments.

Grab App Glitch Quotes Singapore Ride-Hailers $1,000 Fares

Singapore ride-hailing users got a rude shock on Wednesday after prices on the nation’s most popular app jumped about a hundred times from the usual rates, with short trips within the city costing $1,000 or more.

Grab’s ride-hailing app showed fares in the hundreds or thousands of dollars briefly early afternoon in its home base of Singapore, with users in neighboring Malaysia also reporting similar increases.

A Grab spokesperson attributed the elevated rates to a temporary display glitch. Fares went back to normal as of about 12:20 p.m. Singapore time. The company’s safeguards blocked most of the erroneous charges but some made it through, which it subsequently refunded.

Singapore’s CapitaLand Staff Took Bribes in India, Suit Alleges

Senior employees of Singapore property conglomerate CapitaLand Group Pte allegedly took bribes from a longtime contractor of its projects in India, according to a lawsuit filed in the city-state, Bloomberg News reported.

The bribery allegations surfaced in a recent civil case brought by a Singapore construction company against a former director who oversaw its India investments. CapitaLand isn’t a party to the lawsuit, but the company is mentioned in court documents from both sides.

The court filings said some CapitaLand staffers in India received “corrupt payments” in relation to a project in Pune — which is about 70 miles southeast of Mumbai — and the real estate giant has been aware of them since at least 2023. The project is the International Tech Park Pune, Kharadi, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing non-public information.

Great Eastern Resumes Trading After Year-Long Suspension

Great Eastern Holdings resumed trading on Thursday (Aug 21), after a proposed bonus share issue lifted its free float above 10 per cent.

It was suspended from trading in July 2024 after its free float fell below 10 per cent, following a failed takeover bid by parent company OCBC.

Its shares resumed trading on Thursday morning. It was last traded at S$25.80, prior to the suspension and bonus issue.

iFast Plunges After Temasek-Linked Shareholder Offloads S$131 Million Worth of Shares

Shares of iFast plunged this week, as substantial shareholder CP Invest – a subsidiary of Temasek-owned Cuscaden Peak Investments – reduced its stake in the company.

CP Invest sold about 14.4 million iFast shares at a 6.7 per cent discount to the previous day’s closing price, worth about S$130.9 million.

Morgan Stanley and UBS arranged the deal, said iFast in a bourse filing on Tuesday.

The Week Ahead

Singapore will release CPI data on Monday, August 25th.